The Great Pastrami & Smoked Meat Experiment (2003)(Re-Visited)

[turnerm]

I am first time poster (Have lurked here fior 5+ years)...

I have made Pastrami a number of times with reasonable success, but have never made Montreal smoked meat... I have finally found a recipe for Smoked meat (Mile End Cookbook) and want to have a go at it.....As well as Pastrami....I have bought a whole un-trimmed brisket (flat and point (deckel) attached for my smoked meat as well as a plate (navel) for my pastrami....

I will be dry curing both cuts (whole brisket for smoked meat & plate (navel) for pastrami) (obviously different curing & spicing processes)....I shall be smoking them together with either cherry, apple or oak..(suggestions as to which wood will be appreciated).

As my whole brisket is approx. 10 lbs and my plate is about 7 lbs. I am going to have more pastrami/smoked meat than I can reasonably consume in a few days....

My question is:

I have a "Foodsaver" vacuum sealer and want to package into 2-3 lb. portions for use at a later date....My thought is to take the process through curing/spicing/smoking and then portion and vacuum pack for later use. I would then finish with the steaming just prior to consuming....

Question #1.......How long will the vacuum sealed pastrami/smoked meat last in the fridge???

Question #2. ...Can I freeze the vacuum sealed packages without loss of quality for a longer period of time, say 1-2 months...???

Question #3....Should I steam the meat prior to vacuum sealing, freezing etc.???

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks

Mike

[weinoo]

I'm no expert, but I would think you could keep the vacuum sealed meat (do a double seal) for a good 6 months. I would go through all steps except steaming prior to freezing.

I'm no expert, but isn't pastrami generally brined or wet-cured prior to spicing/smoking?

[turnerm]

weinoo.

.thanks for the reply....Concerning brine/wet curing pastrami, I refer to Chef Fowke who conducted the original experiment in 2003 . Message #127 of "the Great Pastrami & Smoked meat experiment"...Sorry as a firt time poster, I don't know how to move a quote from another post to this one...Hopefully I will learn this soon. Anyhow in his experiment he tried both wet cure and dry cure and found he much preferred the dry cure...In addition, I have read other pastrami recipes where a dry cure is preferred...

I have made pastrami only with a dry cure half a dozen times and have been very satisfied with the results... I have never done it with the wet/brine cure...Do you think I would be even more satisfied with the wet cure...???

From your reply, I understand that you feel there is no need to freeze as the vacuum packaging (cryovac) will suffice to keep it for 2-3 months in the fridge with out deterioration...

Thanks for your input...

Mike

[rotuts]

No One can imagine how much I'd like to be able to make true Montreal Hot Smoked Meat right here in MA!

some might think you can get it in NYC and that might be so ... I havent tried and that not in MA

but in the past, in Montreal at the original Schwartz:

http://schwartzsdeli.com/ the very distant past I used to gobble this up

never had anything that even got close.

[weinoo]

weinoo.

.thanks for the reply....Concerning brine/wet curing pastrami, I refer to Chef Fowke who conducted the original experiment in 2003 . Message #127 of "the Great Pastrami & Smoked meat experiment"...Sorry as a firt time poster, I don't know how to move a quote from another post to this one...Hopefully I will learn this soon. Anyhow in his experiment he tried both wet cure and dry cure and found he much preferred the dry cure...In addition, I have read other pastrami recipes where a dry cure is preferred...

I have made pastrami only with a dry cure half a dozen times and have been very satisfied with the results... I have never done it with the wet/brine cure...Do you think I would be even more satisfied with the wet cure...???

From your reply, I understand that you feel there is no need to freeze as the vacuum packaging (cryovac) will suffice to keep it for 2-3 months in the fridge with out deterioration...

Check out Ruhlman which is where I saw the wet-cure.

And I did mean frozen.

Welcome to eGullet, too.

[gfweb]

Very nice discussion of Montreal Smoked Meat and curing techniques here http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/794033